1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an actuator having a housing, an electric motor arranged in a chamber of the housing, and a gear mechanism connected on the input side to the shaft of the electric motor and on the output side to an actuating member, the gear mechanism being arranged in a second chamber of the housing, which second chamber is closed by a cover.
2. Related Art
Actuators of this type are known from motor vehicles as throttle valve controllers, exhaust gas valves or controllers for actuating valves or flaps. The motor shaft is, as a rule, arranged parallel to the shaft that supports the actuating member, in particular the flap. Both shafts are connected to one another via the gear mechanism. The gear mechanism and the electric motor are arranged in each case in separate chambers of the housing. The chambers serve to receive and protect the respective assembly. On account of the different fields of use, different electric motors, gear mechanisms and actuating members are used. Therefore, the housing has to be adapted to the components and installation conditions, in particular in the region of the actuating member. In particular, the different gear mechanism designs cause the cross section of the second chamber and therefore also the cover to vary greatly. This results in a considerable variety of housings, with the result that the housings produced by casting are expensive on account of the low numbers produced per housing shape, which applies in the same way to the cover of the second chamber. Moreover, the respective second chambers and the associated covers have an irregular cross section, for which reason a cover is fastened to the housing by a plurality of screws, the position of the screws likewise varying depending on the actuator.